They don't seem too upset. Did they pour SAND on it?

They do seem oddly content just watching it burn. I call hoax.

As somebody who has lived in Shanghai, I can say this seems like a completely real response. They could be laughing and pointing at a flaming car, or building, ...or person, and I would still believe it.

I see the American fire train is working on taking out China, but it's got a long way to go to catch up with their poison train.

@B: $10 says that laptop never saw the inside of the USA.

@B: "American fire train"? Just where do you think those Dell computers are made?

Hint: probably not here (USA)!

My company uses Dell for 99% of their laptops. I feel safer knowing that I have a Lenovo from the 2 months they were negotiating a new contract.

"The laptop is on fire! We don't need no water let the [beep] [beep] burn!" Oh wait... Who in their right mind would pour water onto a laptop (Blank Stare).

Anyway, in all seriousness...

@Jaysyn: American fire train? Where do you think they put toghether those machines. Give you a hint, it's where they can get labor cheaper. Give you another hint, that surely ain't America...

@Jaysyn, ignore my previous post. That was meant for B.

@Jaysyn (again): I'll see your ten and I'll raise you $20.

Safe taste to eat a pomegranate? Huh?

Well, I was going to go with Taiwanese Fire train at first, but I didn't think it had the right ring to it.

@not_seth_brundle: The pomegranate is on the desk next to Waldo

@Hossofcourse: That doesn't clarify the sentence at all, though.

I'd like to know if the battery was original OEM or some chinese bootleg knockoff...

So instead of trying to put it out, they just stand around while one guy takes a picture?

@not_seth_brundle: It's on the desk with the buring laptop. Consumerist figured he was eating it when the laptop burst into flames. I want to know how they can tell that's a pomegranate.

@Azndude51: It looks like they just jumped out of their chairs. Perhaps the guy that's pointing is pointing at someone coming with a fire extinguisher.

@Rectilinear Propagation: I know, I know, I see the pomegranate.... okay, I give up on the "safe taste to" thing.

@Jaysyn: I was told (by an Apple reseller whose store suspiciously resembles a real Apple Store) that one of the reasons that iPods cost more in China is that they're shipped to the US and then back to China for sale. Also, it is possible to get under-the-table deals to get the iPods shipped straight from the factory to the store (much less impact on the environment too), but that's prohibited for the Apple authorized resellers, so only the tiny vendors do it.

My point is that it may well have stopped in the US.

@jamar0303:

I doubt it. Apple charges your thru the nose. Dell doesn't. Don't get me wrong, I do like Apple enough to get one for my mom, but they are overpriced.

Dell's initial investigation shows that the battery shipped with this system is one that is on our recall list. We strongly encourage customers who may have batteries on that list to check our Web site at www.dellbatteryprogram.com. Customer safety is always our top priority. We want to recover all affected batteries on the recall list and to emphasize wherever possible that batteries recalled by Dell and other PC makers need to be returned.

@Rectilinear Propagation: There are like 10 pics and you can definately see that its a pomegranate...

you can also see that this chinaman has been using the nivea on his desk religiously... look at those pores!

@not_seth_brundle: OH!

I totally switched the words around every time I read that.

@Jaysyn: not if you compare equally configured computers, they don't. Actually, considering all the functional (nay: awesome) software bundled w/ Macs vs the crap- and trial-ware on a Dell, and the downtime you'll spend resurrecting your PC crippled by viruses and trojan horses, Dells are a MUCH worse value than Macs.

To be kind, I won't even bring up Dell's abysmal customer service. Whoops!

@desimal: "chinaman"?!

Fuck you, racist asshole.

indecipherable forum? I guess it's indecipherable if you don't speak the language that people are using in the forum. But that's true of every forum.

Okay, that was perhaps harsh, on second thought:

Desi, are you aware that "chinaman" is a pejorative term that some - well, most - consider offensive and racist? You might want to abstain from using it in the future. It doesn't make you look particularly clever.

@trai_dep: but you bitching about it: totally clever

@desimal: Dude, chinaman is not the preferred nomenclature. Asian-American, please

@not_seth_brundle: I saw that too, not understanding the large amount of replys to your comment pointing to pomegranate and not the completely messed up sentence.

Well maybe it was supposed to be a play on badly translated advertising or sumin.

Try safe taste to eat of a pomegranate today!!!

@tinychicken: Um Shanghai dude, Asian-Asian maybe though :P

Point of contention on the battery issue here...

Are dell batteries placed toward the front? Or does the wiring somehow displace the err... internal combustion of the laptop elsewhere?

v. confused. possibly also v. laptop illiterate.

I'll shut up now.

@desimal dude, you remind me of an octogenarian I once knew who would harp on about the "good days of the empire when we could control the chinamen" Seriously. You'll get your ass whipped by some crazy Asian gang if you keep that up.

these guys look pretty happy for people watching their work go up in flames.

conspiracy theory or chinese conspiracy to undermine American goods?